DESCRIPTION: State the application's broad, long-term objectives and specific aims, making referenceTb the health relatedness of the project. Describe concisely the research design and methods for achieving these goals. Avoid summaries of past accomplishments andxthe use of the first person. This description is meant to serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed work when separated from the application. If the application is funded, this description, as is, will become public information. Therefore, do not include proprietary/confidential information. DO NOT EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. This is a 5-year competing renewal application for the Fogarty International Training and Research Program in Occupational and Environmental Health, located in the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) at the University of Texas School of Public Health (UTSPH) in Houston, Texas. The SWCOEH includes a program component at the University of Houston (UH) College of Engineering. This program, first approved and funded in 1995, addresses a critical shortage of trained professionals and research in occupational health in Latin America. The goals of this program are to train foreign scientists and professionals in occupational and environmental health through an academic training and research program to deal effectively with the adverse health effects of exposures in the workplace and the community, to develop an international network of trained professionals in occupational and environmental health to collaborate in research programs aimed at the identification and control of exposures and their associated health effects, and to develop national and international prevention programs in occupational and environmental health in collaborating countries. Training activities are conducted in collaboration with public and private institutions in four Latin American countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Venezuela. Building on the successes of the first 5 years, we propose to provide training and research support through the following four program activities in the 2001-2006 period: 1 ) long-term academic and research preparation in the United States at the UTSPH and UH, leading to a masters or doctoral degree in occupational and environmental epidemiology, environmental sciences (industrial hygiene or toxicology), ergonomics and safety; 2) project- based research training and public health practice, including expanding ongoing intervention research activities and developing a new competitive pilot projects research training program that emphasizes collaborative research, sound study design, scientific review, constructive critique and the responsible conduct of research; 3) targeted short courses and workshops in collaborating countries for researchers, professionals and technicians in occupational and environmental health; and 4) institutional research infrastructure development through support of the widespread dissemination of scientific in occupational health to Spanish-speaking countries and the creation of a regional center of research excellence for Latin America. PERFORMANCE SITE(S) (organization, city, state) The University of Texas Institute Tecnologico de Costa Rica School of Public Health Cartage, Costa Rica and The University of Houston College of Engineering Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica Houston, Texas Heredia, Costa Rica Centre de Ergonomia Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social Universidad Pontifica Javeriana CENDEISSS Bogota, Colombia San Jose, Costa Rica Universidad de Carabobo - CEST Maracay, Venezuela Universidad Centro-Occidente "Lisandro Alvarado" Barquisimeto, Venezuela Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-X Mexico City, Mexico KEY PERSONNEL. See instructions on Page 11. Use continuation pages as needed to provide the required information in the format shown below. Name Organization Role on Project George L. Delclos, MD, MPH UT School of Public Health Principal Investigator Sarah A. Felknor, DrPH, MS UT School of Public Health Co-Principal Investigator Maria Morandi, PhD UT School of Public Health Co-Investigator Lawrence JH Schulze, PhD University of Houston Co-Investigator Leonardo Quintana, PhD Universidad Pontifica Javeriana Patricia Monge, MD, MS Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica Francisco Gonzalez, MD, MS Universidad Centro-Occidente "LA" Mariano Noriega, MD, MS, PhD Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana PHS 398 (Rev. 4/98) Number pages consecutively at the bottom throughout the application. Do not use suffixes such as 3a, 3b. Main Foreign Collaborator Main Foreign Collaborator Main Foreign Collaborator Main Foreign Collaborator 2 BB CC Principal^^Mgator/Program Director (Last, first, middle): D[unreadable] : ^^ , , _ Type the name of the principal investigator/program director at the top of each printed page and each continuation page. (For type specifications, see instructions on page 6.) RESEARCH GRANT